8th grade mosaic "Summer"

Well, one mosaic of four (seasons) was done today...these have to be finished by next week (and framed) for the students to present as their parting gift to the school!!  Let's hope they make it!!  Looks like lots of lunch/recess time for 8th graders in Handwork....

They are turning out beautifully!!

Is anyone out there?

Is anyone even reading my blog?  I really do it for myself, but I was wondering...I've started to leave more comments on blogs I visit because I realize it is so fun to know somebody looked at your blog, so leave a comment already!

Oh, and I got full braces 6 days ago.  My students think I am the coolest!

Medieval Games banner

Medieval Games banner for the class of 2012!!!  Each schools 6th grade class makes tunics, and this is the crowning jewel, their banner!  Each student painted a square and we fused it onto the banner.  We painted the letters using a stencil, and stenciled the 2012 on the bottom.  (I sewed the banner itself in like 15 minutes...the silk fabric and all the rest only cost $6 , all on sale and with my teacher's discount at JoAnne's)  After years of trying different things, like sewing appliques, using felt...etc, this has worked out the best I think...maybe next year we could embroider the images on, but really, my class sizes are only getting bigger, so not sure if that would be a good idea or not.  It seems we are always racing to get things together before the medieval games begin, no matter how early I start the process!!

Renaissance shirts and corsetes, 7th grade

Just in time, these girls finished their hand sewn shirts and corsetes!!  The corsetes were made from old donated tee shirts  (we are getting very creative due to budget cuts all around!!).  The top picture shows putting grommets in.  Next year we will use larger grommets and I will keep an eye for short-cutters...the middle one was done correctly, but the other two took a few shortcuts, and it shows!  They should be reversible, so there is two sides, but the ladies on the sides only used one layer.  Oh well, they still turned out great, and fine for costume--they went to a Renaissance faire the next day!

Tunics, mosaics, proud students!

Wow, we really had a big push to get some tunics done so the 6th graders can wear it in their play!  They don't have to be done for a month, but a few who have parts requiring the outfit were given a little encouragement (and gave up their lunch time) to be closer to finishing...

The 8th grade is winding down to graduation...I love this time with the 8th grade, they always seem to wind down and get a little melancholic the last couple of months...it usually starts with the first rehearsal of the May Pole dance, where it is their opportunity to shine for the community!  We are working hard to finish mosaics as a gift back to the school...really working against the clock on this one!

A corsette, of course....

Well, at least 2 seventh graders have finished their renaissance shirt and corsette (made out of donated Tshirts!!) all hand sewn...this is wonderful, but the rest kind of lag behind...this is a special problem for handwork teachers...this was supposed to last the rest of the year....hmmm, must come up with something fun for these two, in a hurry!

Medieval Games Tunics begin!

Oh boy, finally dyed the tunics...I say finally because 6th grade has been waiting a veeeeerrrrrry loooooonnnng time to do these, or so they feel that!  I love their enthusiasm (if I could only get that kind of enthusiasm from the 8th grade...).  They voted for purple, so we dyed them and hung them to dry when it was finally sunny!  This week we will begin on coats of arms and their banner.  (on a side note, the 7th grade saw the tunics drying and said things like "what!  how come they get purple....."  How soon they forget, they voted on red unanimously last year---pretty sure purple was and option.  Why is it that every grade feels the year before gets bigger and better things..it is almost school-wide, this feeling, even though they have done the exact same project the year prior...funny little people, the grass is always greener...)